The Cecil Whig., 1887-06-25

ana aOanGaltIy ntsCd to cope with any
who would take advantage Of her sex to
defraud her. The fruit raised on this
plantation has u reputation in the city
markets for being uniformly clean and
fresh and this good fame the grower is
tarciul to retain.
Such success did not come without the
application OF lessons learned from par
tlal failures. Similar obstacles, met by
a man in the same line of business, would
probably have been allowed to stand for
years, but the woman of perseverance
fought constantly until she was able to
overcome them. Fortunately, also, she
had none of that false prile-the baue of
American womou-which regards out.of.
door labor as degrading.
Another Instance III thi; field with
which we are familiar, is that of Il lady
in a New England STATE. left a widow
with family of five children to support
and educate from the proceeds of the
farm. WiCh energy she entered into her
work, which was largely that of vege-
table growing and, with the assistance
"f hired help and of her eldest son, then
but fifteen years of age, she soon placed
herself IN position to accomplish her
liie- work. With ready tact, and with a
view OF interesting as we'll as instructlrg
she early took her children into her con
tidence and discussed her plans with
them. The result here is that the chill
dren are obtaining education, the eldest
son is now i'll charge of one of the finest
farms IN the famous trucking section of
Norfolk, Va, and the active manage
ment OF the home farm has passed into
the hands of the younger boys, with the
mother still as guide and counselor.
These are not unusual instances; others
very similar may Be found by scores
throughout the land, and they are grow
ing more frequent year by year as our
women realize that in work among fruits
and flowers they may not only gain
livelihood, but regain their health and
strength lost by years of III door occupa-
tion, perhaps of service in the factory or
behind the counter.
In the commercial floral business, the
successes of women have been many.
From personal observation and dealings
the writer has no hesISancy in saying
that when male Il ,riSt is brought into
close competition with a female one, the
latter will, i'll nine cases out of ten, bear
off the palm Among flowers she is in
her element her love for the beautiful
and artistic will enable her to arrange
her plants and flowers in unique ard at
tractive designs, which are entirely be
yond the ingenuity of the average male
florist ; buyers of plants and flowers are
not SLOW to recognize the superior re-
suits aud to choose accordingly.
\ now prominent lady florist of Cleve-
land, Ohio. has given to the world a
sketch of her early struggles and subse-
quent successes. The beginning of her
work dated back to the age of fourteen
years and a cash capital of fifteen cents
Having a natural love for flowers, she
turned one of the spiGC rooms in her
fathers house into a rough propagating-
room and conservatory, and sold few
plauts among her friends. Soon after
wards she bought the cast-off sash, lum-
Der and bricks of an old greenhouse, and
with the help OF her brother and car
pentcr, built a new one, 11xlS feet doing
most OF the glazing herself. On the COM
pletion of her structure she was 500 in
debt, which was discharged il the fol
lowing spring by the sale of plants. In
the tall she concluded to enlarge opera
tions and to have green house big
enough to grow her own cut flowers.
This was a hazardous undertaking for IA
young girl; the building cost $3.50, to
pay which required two years of work.
The business grew rapidly, aud its owner
wished to secure wider recognition from
the public with this purE ose in view
her plauts and cut flower designs were
entered at fairs and floral exhibitions,
coming into competition with the wares
of established and well known male
florists. y first premium was awarded
her occasionally, which served to stimu-
late to greater efforts. Gradually male
competitors recognized her talents aud
awarded her the place i'll their ranks to
which she was entitled. Ia this case the
struggle for a foothold was infinitely
greater than in the other instances We
have named, as the aspirant had for com
petitors shrewd business men who were
aware that their rival was woman, and
could use that fact to depreciate her
wares, whereas i'll the cases of the fruit
and veg etaOle grow ers tie excellence of
the product was acknowledged, while
the purchasers bad no suspicion that the
producers were women. To day this
florist occupies leading place among
her fellow craftsmen in the city where
she resides.
1t is not necc ssary to enlarge upon the
successes of women in this occupation,
for they have fully demonstrated their
ability to keep pace with man in the
struggle for superiority of work and sup
relnacy Of position. We feel justified in
saying that in horticulture and kindred
work lies hope for the future of many of
our girls and women, forced BY circum-
stances to earn their daily bread. Es-
pecially does this labor offer inducements
to the county borl-and bred girl which
far surpass tue possibilities of employ
meut in the cities, even as painted in
imagination. Health, strength and in
dependence are to be found among fruits
aud flowers; they should be weighed
against slavery, poverty and an early
death. III the crowded store 5 and work
shops OF our great cities.